SAMSUNG HAS CONFIRMED that it will reveal the Galaxy Note 9 in less than one month’s time, with a launch event set for 9 August.

That’s good news for fans of big-screened mobes, as the Note 9 is expected to pack a sizable 6.38in display, bigger than the Note 8’s 6.32in offering. It could also be the first Samsung flagship to tout an in-screen fingerprint scanner, according to some reports, while others have claimed that the technology won’t be ready for the handset’s rumoured July unveiling.

Release dateSamsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Note 9 will make its debut at on 9 August at a Samsung Unpacked event in New York. According to a report at ET News, the smartphone will go on sale two weeks later on 24 August.

The invite (above) doesn’t give much away but does tease the handset’s redesigned S Pen stylus, which looks set to be made available in gold.

PriceThere’s no word yet as to how much Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 will cost when it goes on sale. However, if anything like its predecessor, expect pricing to start at £869 SIM-free.

Latest news20/7/17: Samsung is reportedly planning to merge its Galaxy Note and S ranges, hinting that the incoming Note 9 might be the last in the lineup.

The Bell, citing sources in the electronics industry, reports that the product line merger has been under discussion for the last year or so given the similarities between Samsung’s Plus-branded Galaxy S and Note models. The decision isn’t final yet, though, and the report notes that Samsung is “struggling” to unify the brands “because the concepts of Galaxy S Plus and Note products are overlapping.”

18/7/17: With just weeks to go until the Note 9’s unveiling, the smartphone has finally been pictured in the flesh.

While the images (above) – posted and since deleted by a Twitter user in China – don’t tell us much that we don’t already know, they appear to confirm that the incoming Note will be just as fragile as its Note 8 predecessor. The device in the images is covered in scratches and scuffs, and there also appears to be some chips the edges.

Seperately, Evan Blass has shared an official-looking image of the Note 9 and its accompanying yellow S Pen.

17/7/17: The Galaxy Note 9 has been pictured in public – in the hands of, er, Samsung CEO Dj Koh. As you can see if you look at closely the image (below), snapped by @ShungNin, the device in Koh’s hands sports a horizontally-aligned camera setup with a fingerprint sensor placed underneath – likely the only cosmetic difference between the incoming flagship and last year’s Galaxy Note 8.

We can also see Koh using Samsung’s new S Pen, which will reportedly come with Bluetooth support for the first time.

At the same media event where Koh was pictured, he commented on Samsung’s plans to integrate in-display fingerprint technology into its upcoming phones, including the Galaxy S10 and Note 10. He also let slip that the new Bluetooth-enabled S-Pen will include some gaming-related features.

16/7/17: Polish blog Spidersweb, citing a tipster familiar with Samsung’s plans and a local Samsung representative, claims the Galaxy Note 9 will cost PLN 4,299 (around £880) when it goes on sale next month, a sign that it might not cost much more than its predecessor. The blog also adds weight to earlier rumours that the smartphone will arrive on shelves on 24 August.

13/7/17: An official-looking poster, shared via Ice Universe (below), has given us a good look at the blue Galaxy Note 9, and its accompanying, er, yellow S Pen.

Given the number of leaks the Note 9 has suffered the legit-looking poster doesn’t tell us much we didn’t already know, but does confirm the Note 9’s horizontal dual camera system and rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, along with its USB-C port, headphone jack and S Pen slot. The poster also carried the tag-line ‘The super powerful Note’, suggesting that an under-the-hood upgrade is also likely.

12/7/17: The Galaxy Note 9 will go on sale earlier than expected, according to a report at ET News. The Korean site writes that Samsung’s flagship phablet will arrive on shelves on 24 August, two weeks after its 9 August unveiling. In comparison, last year, the Galaxy Note 8 was launched on 23 August and went on sale on 15 September.

This early launch, ET News claims, comes as Samsung looks to offset the “sluggish performance” of the Galaxy S9 and S9+, which are reportedly the most unpopular S series smartphones since the Galaxy S3. Samsung is also looking to beat Apple’s next-generation iPhones to market, with the so-called iPhone 9, iPhone 11 and 11 Plus set to debut in September.

11/7/18: Android Headlines has got its hands on what it claims to be an official render of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (below). The image, obtained via a ‘reliable source’, doesn’t tell us much about the incoming flagship, but does confirm that it will be near identical to its Note 8 predecessor, albeit for a slightly smaller chin. The render shows off the same curved infinity display, its unmoved front-facing camera and iris scanner and its identically-placed power and Bitby keys.

6/7/18: Samsung has prematurely published its official support page for the Galaxy Note 9, weeks before it’s officially launched. Spotted by SamMobile, the official pages, which have cropped on Samsung’s websites in Denmark, France, Finland and Norway, don’t reveal any details about the device, other than its SM-N960F model number which is already known.

5/7/18: Accessory maker Olixar has started flogging cases (below) for the Galaxy Note 9, all-but-confirming that the Samsung flagship won’t have many surprises in store. That is unless you’re likely to be shocked by the handset’s “chin”, similar to that seen on the Galaxy S9 and S9+, as earlier rumours had suggested that Samsung would opt for a fully bezel-less design.

The cases, which are now available for pre-order at MobileFun, also confirm that the Note 9 will pack dual cameras placed horizontally with a fingerprint sensor and heart rate module placed underneath. It also offers a glimpse at the handset’s curved screen, and the Note 9’s slot for Samsung’s new-and-improved S-Pen.

4/7/18: The Galaxy Note 9 isn’t launching for another five weeks, but that hasn’t stopped the first hands-on review from surfacing online. The fondling, which comes courtesy of Mobile-Review‘s Eldar Murtazin, who claims to have “had the opportunity to see this device, to evaluate the hardware” on a recent trip to the US.

Murtazin doesn’t reveal much we don’t already know. He confirms the Note 9 will be almost identical to the Note 8 besides its slightly heavier design, and he also caught sight of Samsung’s new S Pen, which boasts added Bluetooth connectivity and improved accuracy.

The Galaxy Note 9’s dual cameras will be aligned horizontally, Murtizan notes, with a fingerprint scanner sat underneath – rather than embedded the AMOLED display. This screen boasts “increased brightness” compared to the Galaxy S9+, but boasts the same curved edges.

Elsewhere, the so-called review confirms that the Note 9 will pack a 4,000mAh battery – which Murtazin claims delivers 25 hours of video playback with the screen set to maximum brightness, and will be made available with a choice of 6/128GB, 8/256GB and 8/512GB RAM and storage.

2/7/18: The Galaxy Note 9’s bundled S-Pen will come with baked-in Bluetooth, enabling it to “do something unrelated to the pen”. So says Ice Universe (below), and while it’s unclear what functionality the stylus will offer, online rumours suggest the S Pen will be able to pause and resume music playback, and be able to act as a camera shutter button.

The Galaxy Note9 SPen can be used to control long-range self-timer, control music playback, because it is a Bluetooth device, it will do something unrelated to the pen. pic.twitter.com/WPS83xUskq

27/6/18: Samsung has unveiled its new ISOCELL Plus camera sensor that looks set to debut on the Galaxy Note 9, SamMobile reports.

The sensor, shown off at MWC Shanghai this week, promises sharper and more accurate photos, even in poor lighting conditions. Samsung claims the upgraded tech will deliver higher colour fidelity along with up to a 15 per cent enhancement in light sensitivity.

The technology also enables image sensors to equip 0.8-micrometer (µm) and smaller-sized pixels without any loss in performance, making it an optimal solution for developing “super-resolution” cameras with over 20MP.

“The ISOCELL Plus will not only enable the development of ultra-high-resolution sensors with incredibly small pixel dimensions but also bring performance advancements for sensors with larger pixel designs,” Samsung said.

While the listing gives little away beside the handset’s SM-N960F model number and confirmation of its bundled stylus, it adds weight to earlier rumours that the Note 9 will see an early-August launch. Previous reports claim that Samsung will show off its 2018 Note-branded flagship at an event in New York on 9 August.

25/6/18: The Galaxy Note 9 will ship with a new version of Samsung’s S Pen stylus that comes with a feature that’s “worth the wait”, Ice Universe claims.

Do you often use SPen for Galaxy Note? The Note9 SPen feature is worth the wait.

While it’s unclear what this feature is, earlier rumours claimed this year’s S upgraded Pen will feature Bluetooth, allowing the stylus to be used both as a wireless speaker and as a microphone for making and receiving phone calls.

20/6/18: Good news – the Galaxy Note 9, much like the newly-announced Oppo Find X, isn’t going to jump on the notch bandwagon. That’s if a leaked front panel (below), obtained by Ice Universe, is legit, as it suggests that the Samsung flagship will boast a near bezel-less design without adopting an awkward cutout.

The bezels are visibly thinner than those on the Note 8, too, despite appearing to house an additional sensor up top – perhaps for improved face recognition.

19/6/18: A slip-up by South Korean retailer KT Plaza Shop has revealed some pre-order information about the Galaxy Note 9 ahead of its rumoured August launch.

The listing, which was screen grabbed by an eagle-eyed Twitter user before being deleted, all-but-confirms that the Note 9 will be available in 64GB, 246GB and 512GB variants, but if recent rumours are to be believed, the latter will only be made available in China and South Korea. The page also suggests that Note 9 pre-orders will ship with a free DeX dock, although it’s unclear if the same deal will be offered in Blighty.

18/6/18: TipsterIce Universe, having previously revealed that the Galaxy Note 9 will launch with an ‘industry-leading’ 512GB storage, has now clarified that the model will be exclusive to China and South Korea.

11/6/18: Reputable tipster Ice Universe has posted an image of an official-looking case for the Galaxy Note 9, all but confirming that the incoming flagship won’t sport an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Rather, the Note 9 will feature a repositioned fingerprint scanner underneath its centrally-positioned dual camera sensor. The leak also shows that the handset will feature a new hardware key on the left-hand side, which some are speculating could be a dedicated camera shutter button.

7/6/18 It’s long been speculated that the design of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 will be largely unchanged from its Note 8 predecessor, and leaked CAD renders appear to have confirmed this.

The images, which come courtesy of 91Mobiles and OnLeaks, show that – if legit – the Note 9 will look almost indistinguishable from last year’s model, debunking speculation that it could feature an in-display fingerprint sensor. Dimensions are said to come in at 162x76x8.8mm, which means the Note 9 will be slightly shorter, wider, and thicker than the Note 8, but the leak suggests it’ll offer the same 6.3in display as before. The camera system is expected to be the same as that on the Galaxy 9+, and the Note 9 is expected to pack the same Snapdragon 845 internals.

There is some good news, though, as the leak suggests that this extra thickness will be used to house a 3,850mAh battery – a huge improvement on the Note 8’s 3,330mAh battery.

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